Saudi Aramco has begun inviting bids for four engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts at the $2bn Shaybah natural gas liquids (NGL)project in Saudi Arabia.

The tender for a cogeneration plant, which will supply electricity and heat, was the first of four packages for the project to be released. The other three packages are the gas treatment facility, an NGL recovery plant and utilities, a contracting source tells MEED.

“The full tender for the cogeneration plant has been released, but only the technical details for the gas treatment facility and NGL recovery plant have been issued,” says the contracting source. “There was no commercial details attached or due dates.”

The full tender for the other three packages will be sent out in September. The source adds that the deadline for the cogeneration plant is 22 November.

Another source familiar with the project tells MEED that the bidders list for Shaybah NGL includes many companies that are also bidding for gas treatment packages at the $6bn-plus Wasit Gas Development project in the kingdom.   

“The bidders list for Shaybah NGL is very similar to the Wasit project,” a source familiar with the project tells MEED. “The companies have been divided into groups and are bidding on specific packages in line with their interests.”

The 13 companies invited to bid for the technical packages at Shaybah are:

• Samsung Engineering (South Korea)
• SK Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Saipem (Italy)
• Petrofac (UK)
• JGC Corporation (Japan)
• GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Technip (France)
• SNC Lavalin (Canada)
• Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)
• Chiyoda Corporation (Japan)
• China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) (China)
• Snamprogetti (Italy), a subsidiary of Saipem

Awards for all four packages are expected to be made by the early second quarter of 2011 at the latest.  

The Shaybah NGL project will see Aramco separate around 228,000 barrels-a-day (b/d) of NGL from crude oil produced at the Shaybah field in the Empty Quarter of the kingdom. The phase I of the gas processing facilities will involve the construction of two NGL trains. Ethane and propane will also be produced.

The US’ KBR is the project manager at Shaybah NGL and is also conducting the front end engineering and design (Feed).